


Bag of Shiny Marbles

by Fox_the_Hermit



Category: Bleach
Genre: AU, Angst, Drabbles, Fantasy, Gen, Humor, Little Bits Of Everything, One-Shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 21:38:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8817109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fox_the_Hermit/pseuds/Fox_the_Hermit
Summary: Bleach drabbles, one-shots, and plot bunnies. Characters, pairings and word counts will vary.The summaries of each chapter will have information on each drabble.





	1. Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Kyouraku Shunsui  
> Summary: The Winter War went differently. A survivor muses about it.  
> Pairings: Gen  
> Genre/Style: Angst? I dunno.  
> Wordcount: 100 words

Once, we ruled the world. It wasn’t the best, but it was better than this wasteland, this _graveyard_ we inhabit.

There was some semblance of order, peace. An illusion, perhaps, but at least it _was_. Shadows-in-charge, no-dissidence-allowed peace, but peace nonetheless.

Now, there’s almost nothing _left_ to rule.

We didn’t _win_.

We are the only ones  _remaining_ _._

Not everyone crawled, bleeding but alive, out of this war. My best friend didn’t.

Many best friends didn’t. Leaving behind someone to grieve, someone to dig a grave and leave pretty flowers at the headstone, crying at the funeral.

This is not victory.


	2. Prompt - First Line of a Nursery Rhyme

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Urahara Kisuke  
> Summary: There was a crooked man...  
> Pairings: Gen  
> Genre/Style: Slightly Dark, Poem  
> Wordcount: 100 words

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.

He had a crooked, brilliant mind, and he had a crazy, crooked smile. 

He’d grin and laugh and think all day, and make thoughts he’d hide away. 

No one believed him when he said, that at the door war laid in wait.

And when it came to take them all, no-one saw it come for him first of all.

So he ran away, he hid and laughed; his crooked thoughts made crooked paths,

And in the end it still found him, and made his blood on the floor spill.


	3. Courage of the Executioners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Urahara Kisuke  
> Summary: Is it a question of courage? Or fear?  
> Pairings: Gen  
> Genre/Style: Gen? Angst? I dunno.  
> Wordcount: 100 words

They know what I am.

Let them come, if they find the courage.

The courage to face my claws, my teeth. 

Or the courage to creep in at night and chop my head off with a sword.

Well, maybe courage won’t be a factor. Orders, or fear of me, might be enough motivation for them to come to my doorstep to execute me.

If they come, I won’t fight. This  _ particular _ life has lasted long enough. I’ll move on easily, if they make me.

It’s just a question of when the wolves will decide to attack the big bad dragon.


	4. Fantasy AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Soifon, Shihouin Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke  
> Summary: Fantasy AU. “We are not asking the dragon for directions.”  
> Pairings: Soi Fong/Yoruichi, if you really want it to be that way.  
> Genre/Style: Fantasy  
> Wordcount: 651

“Have we seen anyone else in this past week, Soifon, darling? Do you have any idea of where to go?” The whisperer sounds slightly annoyed, staring at her companion, and pointing at the map they’ve been trying to use to figure out where they are.

“Yoruichi-san, we are not asking the dragon for directions.” Soifon says, staring incredulously at the shapeshifter, who looks confused, bright yellow eyes wide.

“Why not?” she asks, one eyebrow raised. “It looks perfectly safe. It has a mane! It’s not a wyrm - those have no manes, not a drake - wrong colouration, definitely not a wyvern, and no hoarder would ever be found above ground.” Moonlight glints off her dark, brown-yellow gauntlets and pauldrons, the only armour the princess of the desert deigns to wear.

“ _It’s a dragon_ , my lady. It probably has more teeth than brains.” The dark-haired vampire shifts uncomfortably, her frown doing strange things to the long ragged scar running across her left eye and cheek. Her fangs itch, as they always do when she’s nervous. Her trusty sword is not enough to take down a beast of that size, no matter it’s sharpness or the skill it’s wielded with.

She has a sinking feeling that her lady has just had made a very brave and very inadvisable decision.

“Eh. We’ll take the chance.” And before her companion can stop her, Yoruichi turns around and jumps onto the large, smooth grey boulder, behind which they had concealed themselves. “Oi! Dragon!”

Cursing, Soifon climbs up to join her. In her experience, dragons are not fond of deception, and hiding may well be perceived as such. In fact, in her experience, dragons are not fond of anything - but Yoruichi’s instincts are exceptional, and who is Soifon to question her? Except the closest, most trusted, most _beloved_ of the princess?

The dragon is looking at them now, although it’s still curled up where it was - ten feet away from the boulder. The thing looks big enough to swallow one of them whole.

The wide, shining silver eyes express - curiosity?

This close, Soifon can see that it has two long, curving horns broken off at the tips, like rocks shattered from hard impact, protruding from hay-like, golden-white mane, leaves and twigs caught up in the mess. The scales are pretty much the same colour, although paler, with emerald tinges here and there.

Curiously, there are multiple, exceedingly long, wicked-looking, barb-wire-like scars across the snout and neck. And Soifon can now see why she hadn’t been able to pick out the wings earlier - they aren’t there. Short, scarred stumps are on the back instead. Someone had obviously broken - cut - them off, and she feels a twinge of pity, before wariness squashes it out.

“Oh- Wha- Good mor- _Who_ are _you_?” The dragon’s voice is surprisingly pleasant, although it sounds rough from disuse, strangely muffled and quiet. It reminds Soi Fong of rusty church bells.

“We’re travelers, looking for the Shri-”

“The Shrine of _Jörhmüngändra_?” the dragon interrupts Yoruichi, sounding considerably less confused and much more awake. Soifon bristles. How dare it interrupt-!

“How’d you know that?” Yoruichi asks.

“Well, pretty much the only reason that _anyone_ might have for travelling through here, is to look for a shrine, and considering the fact that you appear to have traveled a long way - well, the only _globally legendary_ shrine here is that one.” The dragon sighs. “I’m afraid I can’t help you, my ladies. You see, I’m looking for it too, and I have not been having much success with that.” The dragon shrugs, and Soifon glances at it’s back again, where the wing stumps are clearly visible. It’s obvious what it wants from there.

“Might as well look for it together, then.” Yoruichi suggests sunnily, eyes crinkled in a smile. Soifon gives her a horrified look.

 _Work with it? Work with a_ dragon _?_

_This is not going to end well._


	5. Arachnophobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Abarai Renji, Kuchiki Rukia  
> Summary: Who’s afraid of the big, bad… SPIDERS!  
> Pairings: None.  
> Genre/Style: Humour  
> Wordcount: 286 words

“Hey, Rukia! Wait up!” Renji shouts, running up to her and skidding to a stop that sends up a small cloud of dust. His hair is sloppily tied back, as usual, and there is a crate in his arms.

“Hi. What’s up?” She looks at the box, mildly curious about it’s contents. “What’s in the box?”

“In the- Oh, this. It’s the result of my relocation efforts. I need to figure out where to dump this, quickly, before your brother finds it.” He looks around, shiftily. Rukia picks up on it immediately, knowing him very well, and her gaze narrows for a moment.

“Are you trying to smuggle out something illegal?” She says it with an accusing tone. Then she grins mischievously. Renji just looks at her, bemused.

“Ille- oh no, it’s not that. It’s just that if he finds it, he’ll look inside. And if he looks inside… Well, it would be  _ kind of _ funny, for a very short time,” he tells her, glancing around, as though looking for someone.

Rukia looks at him, puzzled, before it hits her. “ _ No. _ You  _ didn’t _ . That isn’t a box full of-”

“Yup. Took me hours, but I’m pretty sure I got every single one in our compound.”

“But  _ why _ ? I don’t believe that you did it out of sheer kindness.” Rukia giggles, her shoulders shaking from even more supressed laughter.

Renji considers her, before leaning in conspiratorially. “I’ve heard that a certain.. rather unpleasant, rather experiment-loving captain has the same debilitating weakness that my captain does, the same-  _ dislike _ of small, eight-legged things. And I thought - well, why  _ not? _ ”

“Count me in. How are you planning to get them into  _ his _ compound?”

“Well, that’s where  _ you  _ come in.”


End file.
